When the New York Knicks passed on Kentucky's Malik Monk and NC State's Dennis Smith Jr. in favor of French youngster Frank Ntilikina at No. 8 overall in the NBA Draft, it signaled the beginning of the end for Derrick Rose.
"Did we miss something?" Rose's agent B.J. Armstrong asked the New York Post. "Is there something going [on] in New York we didn't see? We all would agree they are on a different timeline than Derrick -- a young team with great young talent there and trying to build something for the future. They're not on the same timeline as players who are a little older and experienced."
Rose's time with the Knicks was mildly successful by most measures -- 18 points and 4.4 assists in 64 games was good last season -- but the timeline for Rose and the Knicks didn't click. The 28-year-old is in win-now mode, the Knicks are rebuilding.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Derrick's best basketball is right now," Armstrong said. "The Knicks aren't ready to compete at that level right now. It could be three, four years."
Mentoring Ntilikina, a young, unproven international point guard who will need development, was not on Rose's list of desires.
"You're a mentor when you no longer can play," Armstrong said. "This league you get paid to perform. You don't get paid to be a mentor.
"That kid [Ntilikina] was drafted in [the] lottery. He's got to play. One of the most coveted things in the NBA is experience. The kid needs to play. The new [collective bargaining agreement] is constructed to build through the draft. … Let that kid play and make mistakes and see what you have in four, five years. Maybe the kid turns out to be Steph Curry."
Rose, a former MVP winner, signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a one-year, $2.1 million deal last week. Depending on how the drama between Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers plays out (Irving reportedly requested to be traded), Rose may find himself as the starting point guard alongside LeBron James.
